Climbing Down the Ladder of SuccessLindsay Collier
Ever since I read Richard Foster’s landmark book,
Innovation; The Attackers Advantage
,I’ve been sensitized to situations with my own clients where their
biggness
gets in the wayof their potential to be innovative. I’m convinced that, sooner or later, every companycreates an environment that stifles creativity and innovation and that starts them on a path
down
the ladder of success. Once more, the more successful a company is, the quicker itmay move to this path! I’m also convinced that there are some things that can be done tochange this. But it involves changing some well-established thinking practices. If you can’tchange the thinking, you can’t create real change.The fact is that small is often much more effective in the game of creativity andinnovation. Kodachrome was invented by two musicians - why not Kodak? The ballpoint pen was invented by a Hungarian barber - why not a major pen maker? An undertaker inKansas City invented automated dialing. Where was AT & T at the time? Why didn’t theidea of wine coolers come from a wine maker? The list goes on and on. The truth is that,the bigger the organization gets, the more stuck it becomes in its inability to think in newspaces. The tendency is to protect its past rather than invent its future. Once you put in place the patterns of thinking that made your company successful these patterns tend to become rigidly enforced. The distribution of creative energy moves from developing newideas and possibilities to solving the problems of how to look good in the short term.While you’re trying to become perfect at what
you know how to do
there are others whoare looking at breakthrough possibilities in new territories.Companies that are perfecting their past tend to get involved in today’s hot programs(TQM, reengineering etc.) which, in the end, create more barriers to achieving breakthrough. When did you last hear of an organization that reengineered itself togreatness? This process tends to get rid of most of the people who dare to think differentlyabout the future because they don’t fit in with critical business processes. And, whatmakes it worse is that government and educational communities have a tendency to followthe lead of business. They have the mistaken assumption that it’s working in business sothey try it too. And the cycle of non-innovative thinking continues and spreads.So what can you do about it? Of course this depends on the current state of thinking.
Creativity consultants
will often tell you to train your people in creative thinking andeverything will change. I’ve been there -done that. It usually didn’t work - at least for long. It may work if the conditions are right but my experience is that organizationsusually try to force creativity into environments that aren’t ready to accept it. “Let’s have
creativity week
and bring a bunch of speakers and trainers in - that should make adifference.” At best this will create very short-term change and, at worst, it will alienate alot of people. It’s very frustrating to people when they are given the chance to let out their creative capacity only to be bashed back into submission by the organizational culture.So any effort designed to tap the creative capacity of people must begin with anassessment of the culture for change followed by some very serious thinking shifts. Does
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